• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

1200GS vs F800GS

mrjenkins

New member
Anyone have an experienced based opinon on these bikes. I have owned an 1100GS and an LT. I own a couple of Harley's now but have wanted a another GS for a long time. I am 6'4", 270 lbs. I want something lite to hang on the back of my 5thwheel but I also want to be comfortable all day in the saddle. I am ready to make a purchase and I am currently leaning to the 800 due to size, weight, price and great reviews. I know the 1200GS is a great bike and I don't want to regret spending a few more $. I also see a number of barely used 800GS for sale and I wonder why.
 
Ridden both, love the 800, but would choose the 1200 if I was going to do a cross country slab ride. But, unless I get a serious brain anomaly that will not happen, I HATE slabbing it.
 
Good Morning mrjenkins, what do you want to do with your GS and how old are you? I am 6'-1" and weigh 275 lbs.; Olde Farte at age 64 on 10/28/12!

If you are only riding pavement then by all means go with the R1200GS, but if you are still riding dirt then absolutely go with the F800GS. In October of 1995 I bought my 1996 BMW R1100GS and put 110,000 miles on "Mi Mexico Mule", primarily South of the Border on dirt (long ride to Chiapas Estado!) and up to the Yukon Territory and Alaska. Nothing this Old Gringo Hombre likes better than riding the sand in Mexico:

Beemerdonsonthebeach.jpg


Four years ago at age 60 I fully realized that I could not manhandle my R1100GS safely and effectively on the beaches of Baja or on the Haul Road to Prudhoe Bay, after a massive heart attack I no longer had the strength and stamina needed for my offroad moto adventures.

My 2009 BMW F650GS Twin saved the day for me, it gave me a new lease on off road riding life! http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=638662 Here is our AZ Beemers Ride Report on our Copper Canyon in Mexico trek posted up on Adventure Rider, my F650GS Twin "Salma Hayek" did everything her Papa Chuy Viejo asked of her; these F-Twins are fantastic motocicletas, ese!

My long time dirt bike riding friends Barry-BearTrax and BB "El Jefe" rode with Papa Chuy on his 64th Birthday. Barry on the left and BB on right:

100_1233.jpg


Yesterday Barry, Brian and Papa Chuy Viejo went out on our dirt bikes for a 300 mile ride, 100 miles of it were rough and rocky sections of dirt Trails. Cherry Creek Trail in the Tonto National Forest:

100_1227.jpg


At this spot at the start we all brought down the air pressure in our knobby tires to 25 psi, an absolute must for this really rocky and rough trail.

100_1225.jpg
 
Last edited:
I am 52 and will ride both pavement and dirt. Unfortunately I have to ride a lot of pavement to get to the dirt. Rode to Canada last year from GA. You are a similar build to me, do you find the narrow seat on the 800/650 uncomfortable on long rides? Looks like you and your pals are living the dream...keep it up.
 
Very nice Don. I just turned 65 and bought a new 800GS. It's been a long while since I've ridden so I'm still practicing a lot, but I will spend next summer in Utah as a volunteer at Hovenweep National Monument and plan to put a lot of dirt miles on it. :)
 
Very nice Don. I just turned 65 and bought a new 800GS. It's been a long while since I've ridden so I'm still practicing a lot, but I will spend next summer in Utah as a volunteer at Hovenweep National Monument and plan to put a lot of dirt miles on it. :)

http://www.azbeemers.org/forum/index.php?topic=3822.0 cchoc - Charlie: Every year I'm the Rallymaster for "Daze" off road riding events of AZ Beemers. For many years I led "Death Valley Daze", but this year we have "Daze of Moab"! Consider yourself cordially invited.
 
I am 52 and will ride both pavement and dirt. Unfortunately I have to ride a lot of pavement to get to the dirt. Rode to Canada last year from GA. You are a similar build to me, do you find the narrow seat on the 800/650 uncomfortable on long rides? Looks like you and your pals are living the dream...keep it up.

http://www.azbeemers.org/forum/index.php?topic=3904.0 During each year I lead a long AZB trip into Mexico and usually three or four short rides South of the Border.

On Friday, January 25 I'm leading an AZ Beemers ride to Cabo San Lucas, Baja Sur, MEX.

I'm treating myself to a new Sargent seat for this 3K mile ride. However, I have put 20K miles on the stock seat. We here in Central Arizona are fortunate to have a seat man named Don Hendrickson who can insert gel pads into stock Beemer seats, Don H. has done this to all of my BMW, Harley-Davidson and Yamaha seats. I recommend Sargent.
 
Back
Top